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The Pleasanton City Council is set to discuss the fate of the long-planned Old Vineyard Avenue trail Tuesday evening.
City officials had been looking to move forward with closing Old Vineyard Avenue to vehicular traffic and converting it to a paved pedestrian/bicycle and equestrian trail, a proposal called for in the 1999 Vineyard Avenue Corridor Specific Plan once Vineyard Avenue’s new alignment opened, according to engineering director Stephen Kirkpatrick.
But now staff is turning to the council for guidance about how to proceed after receiving only one bid for the first phase — more than $200,000 over the project budget — and after being unable to get consensus among residents at recent community meetings about creating the trail as planned, Kirkpatrick said.
“Some residents state they relied on the VCSP statement that the old roadway would be closed to vehicular traffic and converted to a trail when they decided to purchase their homes,” Kirkpatrick said in his staff report to the council.
“Others residents state the old roadway provides the best access to their homes and should remain open to vehicular traffic … (and) they contend that these other routes cause potential safety issues,” he added.
City officials courted bids earlier this year for the opening phase of the project converting Old Vineyard Avenue to a trail from Vineyard Terrace and Machado Place. The overall project would see the trail extend from the Machado Place-Vineyard Avenue intersection all the way down to the Shadow Cliffs Regional Recreation Area back entrance.
GradeTech, Inc., was the only contractor to submit a bid and its proposal of $865,530 far exceeded the engineer’s estimate of $530,000 and project total budget of $650,000, Kirkpatrick said.
City staff is asking the City Council on Tuesday to hear public input and provide direction about whether to move forward with the project as called for in the specific plan, alter the proposal or stop the trail project altogether.
The council’s open-session meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. inside the council chambers at the Pleasanton Civic Center, 200 Old Bernal Ave.
In other business
* The council will consider the final reading and adoption of an ordinance to formally approve developer Ponderosa Homes’ proposal to build 36 single-family houses on the 9-acre parcel at 6900 Valley Trails Drive owned by Evangelical Free Church of Pleasanton.
The project also includes a private clubhouse, new public streets and sidewalks and enhancements at the neighborhood park, including a public restroom. The council gave its initial endorsement unanimously two weeks ago.
The ordinance approval is listed on the council’s 10-item consent calendar, a collection of items deemed routine and voted upon all at once without discussion unless an item is pulled for separate consideration.
* Also on Tuesday’s consent calendar, the council will consider awarding two contracts for the construction of two new lighted tennis courts at the Tennis and Community Park: $799,338, plus up to $80,000 in contingencies, to Goodland Landscape Construction Inc. to build the courts and $56,880 to Swinerton Management and Consulting for construction management services.
* The council will also consider declaring the local water supply as adequate in the wake of Gov. Jerry Brown ending the drought state of emergency for most of California last month after strong precipitation and water conservation efforts.
* Council members will host presentations for the 2017 Pleasanton Ambassadog program and for the Pleasanton Partnerships in Education (PPIE) Foundation.
* The council will also convene as the Board of Directors of the Geologic Hazard Abatement Districts for Oak Tree Farm, Moller Ranch, Laurel Creek Estates and Lemoine Ranch Estates to discuss engineer reports and declaring the board’s intent to assess properties to cover the costs of operating and maintaining the districts.
* The council will meet in closed session earlier on Tuesday, at 6:30 p.m. in the council chamber conference room, to talk with city officials about ongoing labor negotiations with the Pleasanton Police Officers Association.
I am against closing Vineyard to vehicle traffic. Some people seem to be pushing an aggresive no-vehicles policy in this town, and I mostly disagree with that.
This is not a new no-vehicle policy. This trail was part of the Vineyard Corridor Specific Plan from 1999 and was approved before any of the new construction took place. All homes that were built were disclosed that a trail was going in there and it is part of a regional trail system. It is just unfortunate that the city has been collecting the fees for this trail but only now, many years later ready to build it, and surprise, it cost more money.
Once again we have people who have failed to research zoning plans before buying a home try to force the city to change plans because of their ignorance.
Put in the trail as proposed – it will be a nice addition and a safe alternative for walking / exercise.
Build that trail as originally proposed and promised to us almost 20 years ago and quit worrying about those homeowners that knew it was coming and we’re hoping that we forgot all about it !! Plan B would be to not build the trail but instead line it with affordable housing and a small park with a developer built bathroom facilities.
Agreed with the comments. The Specific Plan is a ‘contract’ with the current residents as well as the future residents. If you do not like the trail part of the plan, you should not have bought in this area. If you claim you did not know about the plans then it is your own problem for not reading the disclosures you signed when you purchased your house. This area, along with many areas in Pleasanton, were master planned and disclosed when you were buying a house. There are many people in the community who worked with the city and commissions for many, many years for planning these areas in open, public processes. It is a slap in the face of all those who volunteered their time when you protest items like this that were planned before you were even allowed to buy/build a house in the area.
@local –
@local. Well written, newbies in town read the disclosures quit trying to bend the rules.